Konavle Traditional Recipes

Family Tree

Hanging on our wall, the Family Tree shows the story of the “Mujo” family, a small collection of old objects complements the rustic atmosphere. Throughout history this area was used for many purposes; as a stable for our horses and oxen’s, storage for agricultural products, wine cellar, and finally became the frequented visited beautifully Kameni Dvori Tavern Inn.

Konavle Traditional Recipes

A superb selection of local Konavle traditional recipes! Even though many of the following recipes were gathered throughout generations and centuries, we’ve chosen only those that are still prepared today for local holidays and feasts. From Appetizers, main courses all the way to Dessert dishes.

We carefully prepare all these delicious meals and dishes with our own organic farming products, seasonal fruits, vegetables and domestic ingredients!

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Chickpeas (legumes)

Cleaned dry chickpeas soak in mild hot salty water 5 to 6 hours before cooking. Wash the chickpeas and place it into cold water to boil. Simmer over medium heat for several hours until tender. Add diced carrot and potatoes, olive oil and salt. In the other pan sauté some garlic and parsley with fat, add a teaspoon of flour. Add the contents to cooked chickpeas. Serve hot. Top with a drop of olive oil on the plate to taste. The same way lentil, broad beans and mixed legumes (chickpeas, broad beans, wheat and corn) may be prepared, too.

Zelena Menestra, Konavle special

To prepare this rich and full-flavoured traditional dish it is necessary to have a peace of good dry prosciutto on the bone, a piece of home pancetta, a smoky pork head and a piece of smoked dry mutton. Wash the meat and place into a large pot to boil. Add some lard to the water. This dish gets a much better flavour if cooked on an open fireplace. Take the meat out when cooked, strain the soup and return it back to the pot.

Place cleaned collard cabbage, green and Savoy curly cabbage as well as quartered potatoes to boil. Take it off the fire when fork-tender to rest for an hour. Serve together cabbages, potatoes and meat cut in pieces. This dish is more enjoyable during the colder days, preferably from October to April, the best around Christmas. Fits perfectly with red wines. We recommend “Kameni Dvori” Merlot.

Zapretana Krtola

Wash a dozen unpeeled potatoes of the same size and not treated with chemicals for germination. Place the coated potatoes in the warm ashes and under live coal for half an hour to roast. Take it out, throw off the ashes and peel while still hot. Peeled potatoes mash with a fork and top with finely chopped garlic and pour with our delicious olive oil. This flavoured side dish is great with different kinds of meat, the best with Lovorski ražnji and chicory.

This goes well with white and red wines. We recommend Dubrovačka Malvasija and Merlot “Kameni Dvori.”

Padišpanj (Sponge Cake known as Bread of Spain)

Beat 12 farm-fresh eggs and 12 tablespoons of sugar to a fine mixture. Add 12 tablespoons of flour stirring gently to get tender texture. Pour the mixture on a greased cake-pan and bake on 150°C for about an hour. Leave to cool before serving. This cake was served on special occasions and became an ideal gift for wedding ceremonies. The recipe was brought to our region from Spain by Dubrovnik seafarers and was called Pan di Spagna.

It goes excellently with Prosecco, a sweet wine made of Malvasia grapes. We recommend Prosecco OPG Karaman.

Arancini (Homemade Orange Peel Candy)

Cut orange peel from organically grown oranges and soak in water for 7 days changing fresh water every day. Drain and cut the peel in narrow strips. Dip them in saucepan with dissolved sugar. Bring shortly to a simmer stirring constantly. Remove and place the peeled strips on a shallow bowl to dry. Roll in granulated sugar to coat the strips. Dry separated one from the other.

Arancini or the candied orange peel may be served with fruit liqueurs’ aperitif. We recommend the loquat liqueur “Kameni Dvori”.

Višnjak (Sour Cherry Liqueur)

Place a kilo and a half of unpitted ripe sour cherries in a glass jar. Add two kilos of sugar and fill it to the brim with grappa. Cap with a tight lid. Place it on the sun to macerate for 40 days. Stir daily the first days until sugar dissolved. Take away from the sunny place, strain and pour in bottles. This delicious beverage is ready to drink. The fruits from grappa are also tasty and may be used in cakes.

Višnjak is mainly lady’s drink recommended to taste as a welcome aperitif before one of the dishes from our Menus “Kameni Dvori”.